Tuesday, September 19, 2006

The soldiers did not die in vain

There's a discussion on the liberal blog I still lurk on but no longer post on about whether or not the service of the brave men and women sent to Iraq is in vain or not. I think the Bard had the best answer about this issue.

But if the cause be not good, the King himself hath a heavy reckoning to make when all those legs and arms and heads, chopp'd off in a battle, shall join together at the latter day and cry all 'We died at such a place'- some swearing, some crying for a surgeon, some upon their wives left poor behind them, some upon the debts they owe, some upon their children rawly left. I am afeard there are few die well that die in a battle; for how can they charitably dispose of anything when blood is their argument? Now, if these men do not die well, it will be a black matter for the King that led them to it.-- Shakespeare; King Henry V

So let's rephrase this so it's more sensible in our current version of English. It's not the soldier's fault that the leader has sent them on a fool's errand. Ultimately it is the leader or leaders who sent that soldier into such a conflict who is answerable for whether the cause is just or not.

We should not hesitate to say we support the troops if we do not agree with the cause they are being sent to fight. They have no say-so in the matter. They are being sent to the wrong war, at the wrong place, at the wrong time, but to quote another poet, "Theirs it is to fight and die, theirs is not to wonder why." However, we have a responsibility to these men and women to bring them home and bring them home safely, and to see that the leaders who sent them into that wrong war answer for their malfeasance.

I hope that people show their real support for the troops and vote in a Senate and House that will no longer be a rubber-stamp for the G. W. Bush Administration. This is why I put up this blog in the first place.